Coaching for Culture: Three big benefits of assessments [video]

When I think about culture, I think about language.

I’ve loved living across the world and going to different countries. And one of my favorite aspects of experiencing culture is getting to know the language.

I was always the person who had the Lonely Planet book back in the day with all the most important words and phrases (before Google Translate).

I’ve always loved trying, probably horribly, but I wanted to connect because at the core of culture, there’s values and beliefs and the things that people are doing… and it’s going to have a sound to it, which is language.

And it’s very similar, I believe, to leadership. The culture you have is going to have a sound to it, which is your language.

Three benefits of assessments

A good assessment is going to give you three things to help you with your language:

1. It speeds up knowing how to talk to each other.

When I think about this, I think about my marriage.

I’ve been married for almost 14 years. And the things I know now about how to talk with my wife compared to when I started… I’d almost do anything to go back and give that person a pill and be able to know how to better talk to each other.

But we had to go through it. We had to learn. We had to step on each other’s toes, fall over, hurt each other’s feelings, and not connect to eventually get there.

And so a good powerful assessment is going to “fast forward” you years into the future of your relationship to give you that information now:

To better understand yourself. To better understand them. For them to understand you better. And to know how to talk to each other better.

That’s the first benefit.

2. It gives you a mirror: How to talk to yourself.

Sometimes we call the proverbial mirror “being meta” – or looking down upon oneself and understanding who you are.

As a leader, that is always one of our biggest dangers: Just not being aware.

I think about all the times I’ve led and I’ve learned something new – years into the future – and I’m like, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I did that.” Then, almost like a person going through a 12-step program, I’ve had to go back and make amends and say, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t aware.”

A good, powerful assessment tool is going to give you that information NOW, so hopefully you can circumvent making a lot of those mistakes.

It also gives you the ability to self-manage.

I love a good personality tool; what I love more is the conversation it creates.

A lot of leaders I work with are really good at self-awareness. I think it’s really grown over the last 20 years. A lot of people I meet are pretty aware of their personality, their strengths, their weaknesses.

The challenge is, do you want to do anything about it? Which is called self-management.

And so a good, powerful assessment is going to give you the ability to self-manage – to know exactly what you need to take responsibility for.

I often say to my clients, I don’t want you to apologize for who you are, but I do need you to take responsibility for who you are. Because we’re adults. We don’t live on an island. We don’t just live where everyone just conforms around us.

I do love that you may have a working genius, but guess what? Your job is to work through others. Your job is to build others. So we’re going to have to learn to be multi-lingual. We’re going to have to learn how to speak each other’s languages. Yes, your language is important, but most of the time you’re probably going to be speaking someone else’s language.

I love that, and it’s a powerful aspect of assessments as a tool.

3. It gives you and your culture a common language.

A really good assessment is a powerful tool – if you buy into it and don’t do the smorgasbord approach, where for every season there’s a new tool that you use (which I’ve done). I love a good personality tool; what I love more is the conversation it creates.

Everyone loves Harry Potter, and the sorting hat. I’m Team Gryffindor, of course.

But is your assessment (and adoption and usage of the assessment over time) actually helping you build a language that helps people talk to each other, to be more efficient, to express your values, to get stuff done?

Does it do that for you? If it is, go all in on it. I don’t care what assessment it is.

At ADVISA, we are partial to The Predictive Index. I love it because it’s simple, it’s used in the workplace, and it really gives people a sense of: a) what they want, b) what they should focus on and avoid, and c) what kind of environment they need.

Assessments give you a common language. So, when I go into someone’s office, I can pause to think, “Ohh, what’s their language? How do I need to speak here?” Or, if someone’s interacting with me, they can consider, “Ohh, this is what’s important to Mike.”

With those insights, we can each use intentional language that just works better. In emails, Teams or Slack messages, meetings, onboarding. Literally every interaction you have.

At the core of culture, there’s values and beliefs and the things that people are doing… and it’s going to have a sound to it, which is language.

All of these benefits help you shape your culture.

Not only can assessments help make sure you’re getting stuff done, they can help you make sure people want to continue working at your organization.

And, in the long run, that’s critical to your success.

How are you using assessments where you work?

The information above touches on a few elements that I wanted to just express and give you some ideas to think about when it comes to coaching for culture and the power of assessments.

But I’d love to know…

How are YOU using assessments in your organization? Which of the three benefits above do you experience, personally? And what else do you think is important that I didn’t mention?

Send me an email and let me know your thoughts and insights.

Cheers!